For many years I have worked very hard to get my body used to the water in order  to achieve the open water swimming challenges that I have accomplished, The English Channel, The Catalina Channel, the Manhattan Marathon and others. It has been such a hard work, both physically and mentally; I have stopped taking hot showers, I try to wear very light clothes, I have taken Ice baths in the tub and I look for places near Mexico City where I can swim with the water below 22 degrees Celsius. It has been a hard work to get my body used to the cold water and in the meantime,  to swim efficiently and generate heat through my strokes to move on, so that I can reach the next shore, but above all to not fall into hypothermia.

What happens with hypothermia? Basically the easiest explanation is that your body temperature goes below 36 degrees Celsius and your body starts developing reactions that go from not being able to talk because of the cold, uncontrollable shakes that the body produces as a defense mechanism to generate heat and continue on, to even more complicated and dangerous situations. The most dangerous thing about hypothermia is when the temperature drops and your brain does not work properly and this is why in very cold situations we need to move to generate heat again.

If physical cold is horrible, the heart’s cold must be very sad and lonely. If I have worked hard not to feel cold, I work even harder not to allow this cold to get near my heart. I will always work as hard as possible to prevent the coolness of my heart and emotions. Therefore I´m working on a shield and I hereby share it with you:

Heart hypothermia protection shield. This shield should always be always ready by doing the following:

1. Exercise the love in your heart every day of your life.
2. Keep in mind images that generate spirit heat, such as family moment memories, with your loved ones or your friends, in the end, moments of love, affection and joy.
3. Give a hand to someone who needs it. But hand it well enough! Share what you are and what you can do for someone who needs a hand. Do not put yourself in their shoes, put yourself in the Gap between that person and fight for him or her side by side… You shall see, this generates heat in your life.

Do not let the cold and hypothermia harm you, keep always handy a way to generate the heat your life requires, and above all, allow heat to warm others that might be going thorough a cold season.

I can handle the physical cold, but I want my life to be generating heart heat always!!! 

Warm cheers!

Mariel